Page 14 of Dyana
“Yeah, yeah,” Bryce replied, shoving Jack lightly. “If I turn into a fucking zombie, you’re the first person I’m eating.”
“Deal,” Jack laughed.
We went downstairs and packed some clothes to take with us. Nothing that would slow us down too much. I also grabbed my tool kit because I knew it would come in handy, despite the added weight. Then, after some debate, we grabbed our football pads and put them on. For some, the pads seem cumbersome, but not for us. We’ve spent far too much of our lives in the gear to be slowed down by it. If anything, it made me feel more secure. The other nice thing about living in the athletics dorm was that tons of sports gear were lying around. Like handy metal bats. And sticks you could chisel down to make a spear. We didn’t have that kind of time, but the others would, so I wasn’t sorry about taking three bats with us.
“Where do you three fucks think you’re going?” the RA asked as he stood in front of the door with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Anywhere but here, brother,” Bryce replied.
“I don’t think so. Nobody is allowed to leave. It isn’t safe,” he replied sternly.
“I’m not sure what about this fucked up bullshit makes you think your rules still apply,” Jack said, “but we’re leaving, and there isn’t a fucking thing you can do to stop us.”
I looked around the lounge at the men still loitering there. They glared and looked pissed, but it wasn’t directed at us. They didn’t appreciate him blocking our exit any more than we did because, eventually, they would want to leave as well.
“We won’t let you,” the RA replied.
“Who’s we?” I asked as I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “‘Cause these guys don’t look like they will back your play.”
Two of our linebackers stepped forward and clapped Bryce on the shoulder. “Are you sure you want to leave, brother?” one asked.
“Yeah, man. We gotta get out of here before shit gets any worse,” Bryce replied.
“Then allow us.” They stepped forward and physically lifted the RA out of the way. “Good luck, QB,” they said to Jack.
“You too, guys,” he responded as he opened the door and left. Bryce followed him out, and I fist-bumped one of the linebackers before following. The door slammed behind us, and I heard the lock tumble. We were well and truly on our own now.
“I hope this wasn’t a mistake, J,” I muttered.
“Me, too,” he replied.
We crossed the campus as quickly and silently as possible, which took far longer than it should have. Stealth was our best option, which meant a lot of hiding. We had made it about halfway when we almost ran smack dab into a group of about ten agitated zombies. We ducked behind a row of bushes, ready to wait them out. They would eventually wander off toward the closest sound if we stayed silent.
The sound of thundering footsteps reached my ears, and I peeked over the bushes in time to see two of the girls we had been with earlier come running in the direction we had come from. They shrieked when they saw the zombies and ran into each other, getting all tangled. They fell to the ground, mere feetfrom us, on the other side of the bushes. They scrambled to get back to their feet, but the zombies were too close.
Bryce’s hands clenched around his bat, and his body tensed, ready to spring to the girls’ rescue, but Jack grabbed his pads and held him back. He shook his head when Bryce tried to shrug him off.
“It’s too late,” Jack whispered. “Eye on the prize.”
That was easy for him to say. He never let those girls get close. But Bryce? Bryce had spent time with them. He knew them.
“This whole thing is fucked,” Bryce growled.
“Let’s just go,” I hissed. Listening to the sounds of the dying girls was too much. We needed to move on; sadly, they had provided the perfect distraction for us.
We continued the rest of the way across campus like that. Hiding when needed and ultimately getting lucky. Too lucky. I was worried our luck would run out before we found Dyana and got off campus. When we reached her dorm and saw the door hanging off its hinges, I was sure we were too late. Only two zombies lingered in the lounge amid a sea of red. Bryce and I quickly took them out with our bats and then followed Jack up the stairs.
“Do we know what room she’s in?” Bryce asked.
“Room 104,” Jack replied.
Usually, I would have taken that moment to comment on him being a creeper, but it wasn’t the time. Jack killed a zombie hanging out on the first floor, and then we burst into Dyana’s room. Dyana’s empty room.
“Shit!” Jack yelled.
“It’s ok,” I told him. “It looks like Dyana packed a bag. She might have already escaped.”
“Her car! We need to check the parking lot,” Jack said excitedly.
